Bridging proposals criticised

The Cyprus Mail says that after only a month on the job, the new UN special adviser has already fallen foul of the rejectionist parties when he was quoted at the weekend saying he would be coming to the island with “bridging” proposals.

Epsen Barth Eide met on Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and in statements afterwards, said it was time to move forward. President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu had agreed that the negotiations would enter a new phase, he said.

“We’ll start doing that week after next. When I am back to Cyprus, I’ll come with some bridging proposals. We’ll go chapter after chapter and go into negotiations that already need to happen. I’ve been meeting with sides to talk about details of how we do that. But I am now quite optimistic that we are now moving into something different from what we have seen,” Eide said.

“That will be my personal priority. And that’s also the Secretary-General’s clear view. I want to go into the essence of the disagreements and I want to go into that fast and I’ll now focus on that.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also referred to bridging the remaining differences, after a meeting with Eroglu in New York on Saturday.

“The Secretary-General… urged them to work without delay to bridge the remaining differences between their positions, building on the principles outlined in the Joint Declaration,” a UN statement said.

The Greens, socialist EDEK and the Citizens Alliance jumped on the ‘bridging proposals’ phrase on Monday, questioning its meaning and calling for explanations. “How do you bridge Turkey’s demand for dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus with the position of our side for continuation and evolution of the Republic?” said the latter.

But the government was quick to play down the development, saying that any bridging proposals, submitted by the UN would be non-binding and have no official standing.

Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said such proposals would not in any way constitute a form of arbitration, a notion that was outside of the leaders’ joint statement.

“The UN… can orally make proposals to help the two parties, without these views being binding or having any official standing,” he said. “It is a form of sounding out the two sides,” he added.


Eide is expected in Cyprus at the beginning of next week.
 Eroglu, during his meeting with Ban on Saturday also suggested the organisation of a three-party summit in Geneva with the two sides and the UN. He said the Turkish Cypriot side had asked Ban to become more involved in the negotiations.

Difficult decisions lie ahead

An editorial in the Cyprus Mail says that one conclusion to be drawn from President Anastasiades’ visit to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting, is that he will soon be called to decide whether to accept the US invitation for Cyprus to become the superpower’s strategic partner and, more importantly, whether to agree to the peace deal that would allow this to happen.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides was very clear about Washington’s intentions, saying that “for the US, the settlement of the Cyprus problem constitutes an issue of priority, in combination with all other developments in our region, in which Cyprus has proved it can be an island of stability that they (US) need geo-strategically to bring peace to the wider region.”

An indication of how much of a priority a settlement is for the US was that Secretary of State John Kerry made time to meet Anastasiades, on his arrival to New York last Sunday, to discuss the peace talks which are set to resume next month. Kerry, according to a State Department official, told Anastasiades that he intended “to become personally involved in the procedure and help as much as he could for progress to be achieved.” He was even prepared to visit the island if this would be considered helpful. On Friday Anastasiades also met Vice President Joe Biden, who underlined the importance the US administration attached to Cyprus by visiting the island earlier in the year.

Never before has such an interest been shown in Cyprus at the highest level of the US administration, which has also been in consultation with Ankara. The Cyprus government spokesman said, after the Biden-Anastasiades meeting, the Americans recognised that actions were needed to change the intransigent Turkish stance, even though the US ambassador in Nicosia said earlier in the week that a solution was down to the two sides.

One thing is clear. Anastasiades will be under tremendous pressure in the coming few months to take the big steps demanded by our strategic partner, while facing strong opposition on the home front. The paper says these tough choices will not be confined to the Cyprus problem, but will also involve choosing between the US and Russia. The world is splitting into two spheres of influence again and we doubt Cyprus will have the option of having a foot in each one. This is a big dilemma, given the economy’s dependence on Russia but a choice will have to be made.

The government’s unprecedented step of consenting to the use of Akrotiri air-base as a launching pad for British air strikes against Islamic State positions is an indication that it is gradually aligning the island with the West. But this is just a step and many more will need to follow that will inevitably alienate Moscow, if it is to realise its declared objective of joining NATO.

Anastasiades will also have to persuade a stridently anti-West, anti-settlement political establishment – not to mention a financial sector dependent on Russian business – that the long term benefits of a strategic partnership with the US would far outweigh the short term problems that would inevitably be created.  We are already seeing some of the benefits – the ENI-KOGAS drillship arrived at Block 9 and begun operations last week without any interference from Turkish ships.

This is the bigger picture that our conservative politicians and other opinion formers obstinately refuse to see, as they feel safe focusing exclusively on their small, inward-looking, never-changing world. It is up to Anastasiades to help us all see the bigger picture and move the country westward, but first he has to find the courage, which he has not displayed much in his presidency, to take these tough and difficult decisions himself.

Coffeeshop

The Cyprus Mail’s satirical column, Coffeeshop, says Prez Nik was in euphoric mood last week in the Big Apple where he was entertained by the big boys of US politics, Kerry and Biden, met the UN Secretary-General and president of Egypt and, together with Mrs Nik, was photographed with the Obamas.

But the Yanks are making one big mistake. By having their top dogs lavishing attention on Nik and treating him like the leader of an important country, he would have no incentive to work for a settlement because it would end his presidency and the joy of meeting the world’s most powerful people.

Kerry intends to become personally involved

The US State Department is cautiously optimistic that the two sides are showing very serious purpose in the new round of negotiations and is beginning to see the start of real negotiations, the Cyprus Mail reported.

Speaking to reporters after US State of Secretary John Kerry met with President Nicos Anastasiades on his arrival in New York on Sunday in order to attend the UN General Assembly, a senior US official who wished to remain anonymous, said that with the appointment of the new special advisor on the UN Secretary-General, Espen Barthe Eide, “we are now beginning to see the start of real talks.”

“The Secretary made clear how strongly the United States supports the work that is going on between the sides and with the facilitation of Espen Barth Eide, the Secretary made clear that he intends to be personally engaged and to help push the process forward as he can,” the official said. “He made clear that the subject of Cyprus and getting – and injecting new energy into the talks also came up on his recent trip to Ankara, and that we will remain very much engaged, including this week when there will be a number of other meetings both with the parties and with Espen Barth Eide.”

To a question if Kerry is planning to visit Cyprus, the state department official said the secretary was prepared to do that if there was a moment in the talks when he could help push things forward.

“We haven’t made a concrete plan yet,” he said.

The official said Eide was going to accelerate his effort to keep talks going between the sides through October, and then “we will see whether a moment comes when he and the sides think a visit by the secretary might be helpful”.

“I think we are cautiously optimistic that these first couple of rounds since the new UN negotiator was appointed are beginning to show promise, that the sides are showing very serious purpose in the way that they are engaging, that we are now beginning to see the start of real negotiations,” he added.

Anastasiades said the focus of the meeting was the new phase of the talks as well as the necessity of a more active involvement and exercising pressure on Turkey.

Replying to a question on what the feeling was from Kerry’s talks in Ankara, Anastasiades said the state secretary expressed his belief that Turkey “means what it says.”

Anastasiades will address the UN General Assembly on Friday, when he will also meet with US Vice President Joe Biden.

UN developing ideas to bridge the gap

At a meeting earlier this month after Eide arrived on the island, the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities Anastasiades and Eroglu decided to accelerate the talks, holding meetings at least twice a month, and to move to the next phase of the talks. They reaffirmed their commitment to lead the negotiations in an interdependent, results-oriented manner, through a win win approach, with the aim to reach a settlement as soon as possible.

Eide said after the meeting that the United Nations are developing ideas to help bridge the gap between the positions of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, as talks between the two sides moved onto the next phase.


He said that he will share those when “the time is ripe” and reiterated that the settlement will be the result of an agreement between the two leaders and the people of Cyprus and that he is “here to help them to get there.”

Right now, he said, “I am working with the leaders and with respect for the leaders I will not go any further into that.” He did acknowledge however, that “there are a number of interesting ideas being developed”, the Cyprus Mail reported.

Eide said “the reference in the document is win-win and the reason that the language win-win is used now is that I feel that there is an agreement now that there is more collective gain than collective loss.”

Obviously, he added, “negotiations are about exchanging views and reaching a mutual agreement at the end.”
 The UN official said the phase that just finished allowed the two sides to table their positions, which “are now well-known to the parties themselves and to the other party.”

“The structured negotiations for which we have already talked about in the joint declaration of February 11 are really beginning now,” he said. “The preparatory phase is done and it is important for me to really underline the leaders agreed that this phase is now over and we are into something else which is a new phase of structured negotiations. Now actually we will put all the difficult questions on the table in a negotiating format.”

Eide also said that the UN will try to come up with ideas that can actually bridge those gaps based on the positions that were submitted.

“There are clear differences of opinion on some issues, but I want to convey as strongly as I can that I feel that we have two leaders who want to solve them and that they really think that solving them is better than the continuing status quo and there is a repetition today that the status quo as we know it today is unacceptable.”

For example, merging two separate economies into one would be to everyone’s benefit, he said – a win-win.

Eide said confidence building measures had not been discussed on Wednesday, as leaders focused on the big issues.

Ban Ki-moon ready to become personally involved

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is ready to become personally involved in Cyprus negotiations if progress is achieved with his Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide, President Nicos Anastasiades said, the Cyprus Mail reports.


Anastasiades met Ban Ki-moon on Monday in New York and discussed progress made in the negotiations following the adoption of the Joint Declaration by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders on February 11.


Anastasiades said afterwards he was pleased with the meeting, 
“not only because we had the opportunity to reiterate our positions and our readiness and determination to work for a solution of the Cyprus problem the soonest possible, but also because we had the opportunity to hear from the Secretary-General about his determination and readiness to contribute and assist, initially through his new Special Adviser and later, if there is actual progress, through personal involvement.”


“We have outlined the difficulties that have been observed so far, and also the need for those involved to work, not just in words but through specific actions. And when I say those involved I mean that a clear reference was made not just to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots but also to Turkey,” he added.

Cyprus could be reunified immediately, says Davutoglu

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited the north of Cyprus on the eve of the meeting between the two leaders in order to “help accelerate the process”, and “to make a strong call for the solution of the Cyprus problem,” as he said.

Speaking on the island, he blamed the Greek Cypriot side for the lack of a solution to the island’s division and suggested that Cyprus could be reunified immediately.

“We wanted Turkey, Greece, the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot administration to sit around the same table and think how they can turn the eastern Mediterranean into a region of peace,” the Turkish premier said. “But no matter how strong a good will we displayed, unfortunately there was no equivalent response.”

Davutoglu said now was the time for action, saying time was being wasted.

“The National Council in the Greek Cypriot side makes decision-making difficult,” he said and called on Anastasiades to join him in resolving the issue.

“Come and let us make peace today, not tomorrow, this week, not the next, this year, not next year,” he said.

Davutoglu also invited his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras to join him in visiting the island’s two communities and have tea together.

He also urged the US and Britain to contribute in resolving the matter.

“Let us become an example for other crises,” he said.

But if Anastasiades cannot do this, he should say so.

“Either join us in finding a solution or let us lift the embargo and think of alternatives. We will never leave the Turkish Cypriots alone. This is our message,” the prime minister said.

In respornse the Cyprus government condemned Davutoglu’s visit and questioned its timing, as well as that of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the beginning of the month.

If Davutoglu and Turkey really desire a solution to the Cyprus problem they must abandon their unacceptable positions – including the recognition of the breakaway state – once and for all, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said, adding that the least Turkey could do if it really wanted a solution s to respond to return Varosha. “Turkey must do a lot if it really desires a solution,” he said.

US interest in Cyprus problem - an opportunity to be seized or resisted?

An editorial in the Cyprus Mail commenting on the meeting says it is not often a Cypriot president is granted an audience with the US Secretary of State. Like Vice-President Joe Biden’s visit to the island earlier in the year, this was another practical illustration of the increased US interest in Cyprus, which American officials have been repeatedly referring to as a ‘strategic partner’. What the US has in mind and what form this strategic partnership would take, nobody knows, but it is most probably related to the island’s position next to one of the most unstable regions in the world.

The paper adds that for the Americans, this strategic partnership cannot materialise without a settlement of the Cyprus problem, which is why there has been a rekindling of US interest in the peace talks. In the decade that followed the referendum the US, understandably, showed complete indifference to the peace process but since the start of this year, the attitude has changed. It was active US involvement that broke the deadlock over the joint declaration and paved the way for the start of talks.

The US government means business. This interest in the Cyprus talks is not theoretical or a passing fad but an indication of the importance the US places in a settlement, which it considers an essential part for its broader strategic plans for the region. The State Department official said Kerry had also discussed Cyprus with the Turkish government during his visit to Ankara.

There is little doubt that the Americans will be pushing for a result to the talks. Whether we will see this as an opportunity that must be seized, or an attempt to ‘close’ the Cyprus problem, that must be resisted, remains to be seen.

Coffeeshop

The Cyprus Mail’s satirical weekly column, Coffeeshop, says it finds itself in the embarrassing position of having to confess that it had been completely wrong in claiming Nik would be a strong and fearless leader prepared to clash with the unions, parties and other interest groups in order to move the country forward, maybe even help it mature.

Nik has turned out to be a marginal improvement on his inept predecessor, but he is, after all, a product of the Kyproulla political system that churns out petty-minded populists by the dozen.

There is a very good reason why all our presidents are such disappointments. As soon as they are elected they start work on securing a second term, the best illustration of which, is the way they handle the Cyprob. Before being elected they claim they would work relentlessly for a solution, but as soon as they sit their bum on the presidential chair their sense of urgency automatically disappears. A solution is a threat to their presidency and therefore has to be avoided at all costs.

The Ethnarch fought against it while Tof resorted to delaying tactics; Nik is following the comrade’s tactics. 
If Kyproulla is ever to have a president that puts the interest of the country above his re-election, the constitution must be amended to allow only one presidential term per person.

And if additional confirmation were needed that Nik was behaving like the Ethnarch, he offered it on Tuesday when he threatened not to attend the dinner with Eroglu that was being hosted by the new UN special rep Espen Barth Eide. He was outraged because Ban Ki-moon had said that the two sides should enter the give-and-take stage of the negotiations. The UN had to issue a correction, to the effect that Ban did not know what he was talking about, for Nik to agree to attend the dinner.